Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United States
Avionics Test Bench Software Development
Notice ID: FA2487-20-R-0003
Department/Ind. Agency: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Sub-tier: DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE
Office: FA2487 AFTC PZIE
General Information:
Contract Opportunity Type: Sources Sought
Original Published Date: 2019-11-12 10:37:32.679-05
Original Date Offers Due: 2019-11-27T15:00:00-06:00
Original Inactive Policy: auto15
Original Inactive Date: 2019-12-12
Classification:
Product Service Code: 7030
NAICS Code: 541511
Place of Performance: FL-05 FL 32542 USA
Description
SOURCES SOUGHT FOR
AVIONICS TEST BENCH SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
The Department of Defense, United States Air Force (USAF), Air Force Test Center (AFTC), Specialized Contracting Branch (PZIE) at Eglin AFB is currently conducting market research seeking capabilities statements from potential sources, including small businesses (SB), 8(a), HUBZone, Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned (EDWOSB), Woman-Owned (WOSB), and Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVOSB) small businesses that are capable of the requirement listed below.
After receiving this notice, all interested vendors should submit a response demonstrating their capabilities to meet the requirements above to the POC listed below. Proposals are not being requested or accepted at this time. As stipulated in FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No solicitation (Request for Proposal) exists at this time; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. The decision to solicit for a contract shall be solely within the Government’s discretion.
The NAICS Code assigned to this acquisition is 541511, Custom Computer Programming Services, with a size standard of $27.5M. Respondents should indicate their size in relation to this size standard and indicate socio-economic status (i.e. SB, 8(a), HUBZone, EDWOSB, WOSB, or SDVOSB). Respondents are further requested to indicate their status as a Foreign-owned/Foreign-controlled firm and any contemplated use of foreign national employees on this effort. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business set-aside based upon responses hereto for any subsequent action. All prospective contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database to be awarded a DoD contract. No set-aside decision has been made. Note that a key factor in determining an acquisition to be a Small Business Set Aside is that small business prime contractors must perform at least 50% of the effort, as defined in FAR Clause 52.219-14.
Any information submitted by respondents to this sources sought is voluntary. This sources sought notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice. Respondents will not be individually notified of the results of any government assessments. The Government’s assessment of the responses received will factor into whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a full and open competition or as a set-aside for small business, or any particular small business program.
AFTC/PZIE requires sustainment support for an Avionics Test Bench version of AF developed Avionics Vulnerability Assessment Software. Software development/modification and hardware delivery will be required for a period of five (5) years post contract award. Description of anticipated work is in accordance with the following:
REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION:
OBJECTIVE: The objective is for the 96th Cyberspace Test Group (CTG), Eglin AFB, FL, to contract for all Systems Engineering and Technical support necessary to provide sustaining upkeep for five (5) Avionics Test Benches (ATB) (previously called the Avionics Test Bed) throughout the life of the contract. It is anticipated that the 96 CTG dependency on the Contractor for sustainment functions will decrease over time as 96 CTG personnel gain proficiency and organic capabilities.
DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. The contract will be for the continued development, modification, and integration of the AF owned Avionics Software for the ATBs owned by the 96 CTG. The Contractor shall furnish all personnel, equipment, labor, tools, materials, supervision, transportation and other items and services necessary to provide software and hardware upgrades and integration as needed for the five (5) AF developed software on the ATBs. Contractor work will typically occur at any of the following locations: the Contractor’s site; 96 CTG sites at Eglin AFB, FL, San Antonio, TX, and Edwards AFB, CA; off-site test locations where the mobile ATBs are being used. Software upgrades generally will focus on enabling system capability to support a wide range of hardware including interfaces for discrete and analog signals, computer networks, serial interfaces, and other devices via General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) with regards to evolving cyber threat requirements. Hardware and software may be installed by the Contractor supervision during scheduled visits or by site personnel.
DESCRIPTION OF THE AVIONICS TEST BENCH. The 96 CTG owns a total of five (5) ATBs (one fixed and two mobile test bench capability located at Eglin AFB, and one fixed and one mobile located at Edwards AFB, CA). The ATBs are used to support the Avionics Cyber Security testing mission. The ATB is a test capability that uses Government owned Avionics Software as its central capability. This technology provides a modular software and hardware architecture with a standardized set of interfaces that allows for rapid integration of simulation models and avionics hardware interfaces to the system. It supports real-time hardware-in-the-loop testing and evaluation of avionics systems, subsystems, and components. It delivers an end-to-end reference system that can be used to integrate current, new, or updated technologies from platform program offices to validate and demonstrate capabilities in flight representative environments, enabling the discovery and mitigation of vulnerabilities. Additionally, Avionics Software provides automated support for setup and reconfiguration to create a highly configurable and repeatable testing environment. As new tests are required, configurations can be adapted quickly to set up a new environment. Avionics Software also provides the capability to record inputs from real weapon systems and replay the data back to a weapon system in the testbed environment. Another powerful feature is the AutoVal test script capability. AutoVal enables test engineers to create and execute test scripts that automatically generate inputs to the Unit Under Test (UUT) and check the correctness of outputs from the UUT. These automated tests allow for fuzz testing of interfaces and monitoring to observe the system’s response.
The Avionics Software is comprised of 50,000 SLCO. It has 20 years of GOTS development. The most recent company to work on it took 4 years to get it where it is today. The core language is primarily C++. Ruby based scripting is necessary. There are scripting languages for the Avionics Software build process including cmake, python for version tracking, and Installshield for installation programs. Java script and Qt cross-platform development framework knowledge is needed to utilize the tools developed to work with the ATBs.
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.
The Contractor shall deliver consistent software versioning across the ATB inventory. The Contractor shall ensure the ATB systems underlying Windows operating systems is a current, RMF approvable, and patchable platform. The Contractor shall ensure that the full ATB systems are equipped with the interface cards/adapters capable of supporting upcoming test events. Portable ATBs will be configured to be flexible to facilitate swapping interface cards as needed for remote testing. The Contractor shall be responsive to CCB vetted software and hardware change requests addressing deficiencies, requested software enhancements, and usability improvements while maintaining system integrity.
As cyberspace threats evolve and become increasingly more sophisticated, the tools used to conduct vulnerability assessments must continually improve and update to meet the changing environment. The Contractor shall deliver Continuous Modernization and Improvement of hardware and software and methods to help ensure ATB development is responsive to the ever-changing cyber threat environment and the capability stays relevant and representative.
Contractor deliverables shall include, but is not limited to:
• Development of models to stimulate avionics systems, subsystems, and component LRUs appropriately for the test shall be delivered ≤ 6 months per scenario
• Development of avionics hardware to support integration with the ATB shall be delivered ≤ 6 months per scenario
• Performing integration of hardware and software tools
• Modifying the ATB to deliver additional desired capabilities
• Performing Reverse Engineering of LRUs to support integration with the ATB
Software Requirements: The Contractor shall perform software requirements analysis and development, software design, software integration, code and unit test tailored for the specific project. The Contractor shall provide ATB and specifically Avionics Software module development with the ultimate long-term goal of transferring this knowledge and capability to the 96 CTG for in-house support. The Contractor shall also develop software test programs tailored for the specific project. The Contractor shall also develop Simulations and Support Software for systems/software specified by the government.
Hardware Requirements: The Contractor shall perform hardware design of systems, subsystems, and/or integration of hardware systems. Hardware design shall be documented by drawings and schematics. The Contractor shall produce prototype hardware for integration testing and production prove-out.
Personnel Expertise: The Contractor will need to have personnel that are appropriately and adequately trained with expertise in Avionics systems, subsystems, and components. The Contractor will need to have personnel that are vetted at the appropriate personnel security clearances at the start of the contract. Additionally, properly certified personnel in the scripts and certs mentioned above.
Request for Information: All contractors need to provide an estimate of the time that would be needed to learn the software before new modifications can be started. Also, remark on all information that will be needed to be provided in order to quote for the modification of the software without first getting to see the software.
CAPABILITIES STATEMENT:
All interested U.S. vendors should submit a response that explicitly demonstrates their capability to provide/perform the requirement stated in this notice and answers the two questions in the Request for Information section. A list of possible personnel with their experience is not needed but would be beneficial. Details shall also be specified concerning the commerciality of the supplies to be provided such as previous contracts with commercial entities. The response should be brief and concise, yet clearly demonstrate an ability to meet the stated requirement. The response must not exceed fifty (50) pages, 8.5” x 11” paper, 12 pitch, Times New Roman font, with a minimum of one (1) inch margins all around. Responses should include the company name, CAGE code, point of contact, address, and phone number. Small businesses with only partial capabilities of this requirement are encouraged to submit their response demonstrating the portion of the requirement they are capable of providing/performing. This information will allow the Government to identify areas of possible breakout or possible subcontracting opportunities.
All correspondence sent via email shall contain a subject line that reads “Avionics Test Bench Sources Sought”. If this subject line is not included, the e-mail may not get through e-mail filters at Eglin AFB. Filters are designed to delete emails without a subject or with a suspicious subject or attachment. Attachments with files ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted. Ensure only .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xsls, or .xls documents are attached to your email. All other attachments may be deleted. Package sizes greater than 5 megabytes shall be submitted via the ARL Secure Access File Exchange, located at
All responsible sources may submit information that shall be considered by the agency. If late information is received, it may be considered, depending on agency time constraints. All routine communications regarding the announcement should be directed to the contractual point of contact listed in this posting. The Government may or may not use any responses to this sources sought as a basis for a subsequent project/requirement. Any project/requirement developed from the sources sought responses may be the subject of a subsequent acquisition; any such subsequent acquisition will be posted in FedBizOpps.gov separately. Responses to this sources sought will not be returned. The Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, or provide feedback to the respondents with respect to any of the information submitted under this sources sought. No requests for a bid package or solicitation will be accepted; a bid package or solicitation does not exist at this time. In order to protect the integrity of any possible future acquisition, no additional information will be provided and no appointments for presentations will be made in reference to this sources sought.
Only Government employees will review submitted responses to this sources sought. Respondents are advised that employees of commercial firms under contract with the Government may be used to administratively process submissions and perform other administrative duties requiring access to other contractor’s proprietary information. These administrative support contractors include nondisclosure agreements prohibiting their contractor employees from disclosing any information submitted by other contractors or using such information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished.
RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 3:00 P.M. (CENTRAL) ON 27 NOVEMBER 2019. Direct all questions concerning this requirement to the POC Tasha Monan at tasha.monan-sharon@us.af.mil.
Attachments/Links
Link:
Contact Information
Contracting Office Address: EGLIN AFB FL (32542)
